The bestower of insecurity and shame, as depicted in the famous 1881 illustration by Thomas Nash

AISHA HARRIS, a black columnist for Slate, suggests that Santa Claus be henceforth depicted as a penguin — yes, a penguin — instead of a fat, bearded white man. Harris writes:

Why, you ask? For one thing, making Santa Claus an animal rather than an old white male could spare millions of nonwhite kids the insecurity and shame that I remember from childhood. Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, Santa is one of the first iconic figures foisted upon you: He exists as an incredibly powerful image in the imaginations of children across the country (and beyond, of course). That this genial, jolly man can only be seen as white—and consequently, that a Santa of any other hue is merely a  “joke” or a chance to trudge out racist stereotypes—helps perpetuate the whole “white-as-default” notion endemic to American culture (and, of course, not just American culture).

Harris thinks black children would identify more with a cartoon animal than with a kindly old white man who loves children. In other words, even when a white man is dispensing gifts, he is the cause of resentment, which means he can do nothing right and must be dispossessed of his culture, even seemingly innocent and benign traditions. Harris says Santa’s roots in legends about Saint Nicholas are irrelevant:

So let’s ditch Santa the old white man altogether, and embrace Penguin Claus—who will join the Easter Bunny in the pantheon of friendly, secular visitors from the animal kingdom who come to us as the representatives of ostensibly religious holidays. It’s time to hand over the reins to those deer and let the universally beloved waddling bird warm the hearts of children everywhere, regardless of the color of their skin.

I suggest we ditch black columnists instead because nine times out of ten they can come up with nothing but manufactured grievances. It would be better to have penguins as journalists.

— Comments —

Julia writes:

Wow. Guess Ms. Harris is too scholarly to do a little real life research. Some places have both black and white Santas. She’d probably have a stroke over Zwarte Piet, Santa’s sooty sidekick from the Netherlands.

MS writes:

I’ve got a better idea:  the US should adopt Zwarte Piet, Sinterklaas’s companion in the Netherlands.  Zwarte Piet may be looking for a new home after a UN functionary declared the Dutch tradition “racist.”  Getting Piet won’t be easy, though:  the Dutch aren’t rolling over and letting their cherished figure go without a fight.

Something tells me, though, that despite his friendliness and secularity, this columnist wouldn’t welcome Zwarte Piet to the pantheon of American holiday figures.

 Laura writes:

Oh, for Pete’s sake. So even when blacks are an authentic part of a European country’s Santa tradition, there are cries of white oppression.

Diana writes:

Good grief! So, the Dutch have drawn the line in the sand here. These are the people who are dealing with mass Muslim and black immigration by showing new immigrants films of men kissing one another. Assimilation, Dutch style.

I am tempted to say, “A plague on both their houses.” But I can’t.

A couple of further points.

Does not Christian tradition identify the Biblical Magi as coming from the East, variously coming from Persia, India, Arabia, Ethiopia? Is that OK? I think it is, because these are wise men and as we all know, black men are wise genetically, even though genes don’t count.

In Spain there has been a campaign to cast a real black person as Balthazar. Currently he is played by a white Spaniard in blackface.

Diana adds:

There actually is a truth to be gleaned in the argument over Black Pete.

People will be roused to fury when their silly folk customs are mocked, in a way that they are not about other things, even important things such as immigration.

Because they grew up with this silly stuff, and it cuts very deep when what you grew up with is mocked and attacked.

I am enjoying this spectacle.

 Laura writes:

That’s a good point but I don’t think Santa Claus is silly.

Kevin writes:

I think I looked over Slate twice at the most before ditching it for the lesbian-worshipping, feminist, race-hustling sewer it is. I’ve read student-produced high school newspapers that were less navel-gazing exercises in narcissism.

Laura writes:

Yes, I’ve never read it except in a spirit of derision.

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